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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · mug · degree · date · game · chair · foot · ball

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. degree — an amount
  3. land — ground
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. ball — a dance
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. mug — a face
  10. game — a match
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. mug — to rob
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. mug — a cup
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — from a university
  20. date — the fruit
  21. ball — a great time
  22. land — to come down
  23. foot — a measure
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com